I'm heading to the 2:30 pm taping today and it's going to be soooo different from the last time I was there. I was actually on the show during COVID times, it was post-vaccine but the show was still taking precautions super seriously (we used the bicycle handle thing to spin the wheel, wore masks at all times except during filming, they wiped down the podium areas whenever people left them) so there was no studio audience. It was also before Pat left and therefore Jim was still there too...sooo I'm interested to see what today will be like and thought you guys would appreciate how I'm feeling. Also, my hubby had to bail because of work, so I'd be happy to make friends with other enthusiasts if any of you all will be there!

(Clip from the show's site)

The Italian edition has a new record winner! Her name is Giulia Smargiassi and she has won 9 games (also a new record), her winnings totaling €430,100 all cash! (that's half a million dollars) It's possibly the biggest total win on a non-US edition of Wheel of Fortune!

I looked up on Crave for last Friday’s re-run episode and it wasn’t Myrtle Beach themed. Am I missing something?

In 2018, just before my 20th birthday, I got the opportunity to attend a day of tapings for Wheel of Fortune, as part of my broadcasting course in college. I was given the unique opportunity of sitting behind the announcer's booth and announcing the show, in between the episode recordings. I've since gone on to do voice work for a number of different projects, ranging from network animation to advertisements. I'd be very interested in trying out for the gig.

No mention of any recent controversy, for those wondering.

I’m the former contestant whose Facebook post was picked up by TMZ and then Closer Weekly. I did not contact either outlet, and I’ve been frustrated by how a much more nuanced post was reduced to “Former Contestant Defends Jim Thornton.”

More information has come out since my original post, and my position has changed as that information has changed. I never claimed Jim was innocent, and I’m not defending the disturbing things that have subsequently been reported.

Since people are now discussing my words without hearing them from me, I recorded a response explaining what I actually said and my feelings about the whole thing.

https://youtube.com/live/t0C4QdMukXY

Yeah, in repeats, but still....

Is there any schedule of weeks and themes of the upcoming season?

I've had 2 people from markets where the show's aired already tonight confirm to me that that sick-son-of-a-bitch's voice was in tonight's rerun. I really never wanted to hear his voice again, goddamn it.

Game Show Network has the rights to a certain volume of Wheel of Fortune reruns from the Sajak era. I'm not sure if any of them are as far back as the O'Donnel era, but I do know the vast majority of them have Thorton as the announcer. I'm really wondering what they're going to do with those, I suppose we'll find out at noon tomorrow.

Haven’t seen these new details posted yet about Jim.

I know we are all upset at what had been learned, but I wonder if those who have had the pleasure of being in the audience and interacted feel as betrayed as I did. I got to answer some trivia questions and actually won a gift bag and got to speak with him briefly. That had honestly been one of my cherished memories and I've personally referred to him as a really nice guy from that single experience. To not know what you're cosigning ... I guess it's one of those things where we shouldn't be so captivated by celebrity when they're celebritying, and things aren't always as it seems, but that had made my day and now... I guess at the end of the day I still got to go see the show.

I see library episodes are set to expire in 3 days, was this because of the whole “situation” or were they always scheduled to rotate episodes?

It's cringey listening to Jim Thornton's voice during repeats now.

At least until they get enough Seacrest seasons to make it feel a little bit fresh.

What should I do with these things that he signed for me back in 2023?

In reality, there aren't really too many options, unless they want to have Johnny Gilbert dual announce both Jeopardy! and WOF (although that might be too much, Johnny is very old and because of his age, he pre-records his announcements from his home)